Experts warned of a recurrence of the electricity shortage crisis and the accompanying programmed cuts at the height of summer. According to specialized statistics, the country is expected to face a shortage of electric power supplies in the summer of 2024 and 2025, which may extend to 2027, reported Al Qabas Newspaper. The oversight reports had warned of the shortage as per the decisions of the Planning Committee in the Ministry of Electricity and Water, which called for postponing some projects of power plants.
The report added that in the event of a shortage in the production of electric power, the MEW may have to reduce electrical loads by cutting off electricity to some consumers during the peak times of the summer, which may equally affect all regions at varying periods. Moreover, it was pointed out that any power outage would cause huge economic losses for the government and the private sector, in addition to possible delays in developmental projects, which may directly affect the government’s work program and developmental plan. As per the Gulf interconnection project, the source stated that it will not contribute in an integrated and safe way to providing the required electrical energy due to high cost of buying energy at peak time, as well as limited operational capacity.
Moreover, source stated that the MEW is in need of international advisors to provide technical support and the necessary expertise, and that the termination of the services of many engineers and leaders with distinguished experiences created a slack in the technical management.
In addition, the report explained that among the most important reasons behind the lack of electric power supply are the delaying of the construction of new power plants; the poor planning and forecasting of energy needs; the Partnership Authority’s delay in offering new stations; the ministry’s dispensing with international expertise in planning; the weak and low performance and expertise of several officials; the long documentary cycle for approving and submitting power plant projects; and, the construction of power plants requires the allocation of huge budgets.
According to the source, there is a need to take urgent decisions that would solve the expected electricity crisis, especially by implementing water generation and desalination plants under the independent supplier system; dispensing with the partnership system, and transferring all construction projects for power plants to the MEW to offer them under the independent supplier system to the private sector; expanding the involvement of the private sector in financing, building and operating generation and water desalination plants; and, introducing solar electricity production stations with the independent provider system, whereby the private sector fully finances, implements, maintains, manages and sells electricity to the state.
Furthermore, some of the suggested solutions also included transforming the MEW into a governmental and private corporation and company, which contributes to providing better services and reducing costs for the state; offering solar power plants to the private sector, provided that they are implemented by the independent provider system, while expediting the offering and awarding procedures; canceling the partnership system in all construction projects for power generation and water desalination plants; and, using international consultants to conduct studies and long-term strategic planning.
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